Above is a black-eared wheatear encountered by biologist Lee Harding during his journey through Morocco. Harding will give a slide presentation on Morocco’s natural and cultural history at the October meeting of the Burke Mountain Naturalists, to be held next Tuesday.
Lee Harding photo
By Staff Writer – The Tri-City News
For many travellers, Morocco holds a mystique. It has cities with romantic-sounding names like Marrakech and Casablanca, ancient kasbahs, snake-charmers and exotic Berber and nomadic Tuareg peoples.
But Morocco is also the most biodiverse country in North Africa and attracts travellers interested both its natural and cultural history.
At the Oct. 9 meeting of the Burke Mountain Naturalists, wildlife biologist and BMN member Lee Harding will present a slideshow on his travels from Marrakech to Fes over the three Atlas mountain ranges, across the edge of the Sahara Desert to the Atlantic coast, and back to Marrakech. His presentation will describe the vastly different eco-zones and habitats of Morocco, from the Mediterranean coastal plan to coniferous forests of snow-covered Atlas ranges to acacia and argan scrubland where saffron and argan oil are produced to flavour the country’s cuisines, to deserts of the Sahara and sand dunes of the Atlantic coastal plain, each with specialized birds and other wildlife.
The meeting is free to attend and all are welcome at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 9 in the hall of Como Lake United Church (on the corner of Marmont Street and King Albert Avenue in Coquitlam).
For more information, call 604-936-4108 or 604-461-3864, or visit www.bmn.bc.ca.
